Dubai's relationship with cocktail culture began in the 1960s with the opening of the city's first international hotels. The Dubai International Hotel pioneered the scene, introducing professional bartending to the region. As the city grew from a pearl-diving village into a global metropolis, its cocktail culture evolved in parallel.
The 1990s marked a significant shift with the arrival of luxury hotel chains, each bringing sophisticated bar programs. The early 2000s saw the emergence of dedicated cocktail bars, while the 2010s introduced craft cocktail culture, speakeasy-style venues, and molecular mixology techniques.